Chapter One
You will wish you never found Pandora's Box.
Planet Carna
Southwestern Plains
Imperial Taidan Outpost #4: External Observation Nest
"...Oh shit!" Twenty kilometers west, a Republican Heavy Cruiser was landing in the sand. The sight would normally be amazing, breath taking, but now, it was a bad kind of impressive.
"What's happening? What is it?" his partner asked him. Reiphin and Terrex's position was solid for now, but with these new big guns on the field, the fight became slightly more complicated. First, it would land, dropping off thousands of Republican soldiers and hundreds of hover turrets. Not to mention the squad of fighters it was currently launching out for air support. After the drop off, the massive ship would rise, back into space, and use its ion cannons as a laser targeting super weapon.
"Ter, there's a fucking Republican cruiser landing," Rei said, not looking back at Terrex, but continued watching the Heavy Cruiser.
"A what?! What the hell are they doing here?!.....Oh shit."
"Like I said," Reiphin turned to a soldier whose eye had just caught sight of the cruiser. "Get the CP's up and ready. If that big sucker gets out of range, we're all toast." The soldier blinked, then took off toward the outpost entrance. The two Capital Penetraters the outpost housed would probably not be enough to destroy the massive vessel, but aimed right, they could do enough damage to one system to effectively disable it.
At the same time, Ter turned to another officer. "Ask fire control for the predicted coordinates of the cruiser's landing spot, then forward the data to artillery." He paused and cocked an ear to the battle zone as a shot from the cruiser's mass drivers smahed the sand. Ter could not see the battle, for he was blind. "When the Republicans deploy, give the order to commence firing." The officer saluted and ran close behind the soldier, back into the outpost. Ter and Rei returned to the small observation nest. "I gave the order to artillery to prepare for action."
"Good idea," but Rei thought for a second as he watched their Imperial troops close in on the rebels. The enemy militia that they had initially been taking down had reached where their aid was landing and were trying to hold out until the cruiser landed. With the Imperial troops close enough, they would be too close for the extended range of the cruiser's mass drivers, but they prevented a support barrage by being in the way. "We need to pull out."
Ter didn't speak for a moment. "Right. How many squads are left?"
Rei looked at the small tactical display close by. It showed a massive glob of green, a smaller group of yellow, and one, big red dot. Plus three red triangle shapes moving around on random paths. There was also a list. "Uhh...fifteen, minus Tiber Group, since they are still back here. What do you think? 'Four Group' withdrawal?"
"No, tell them to take all separate routes. We want minimal casualties from those mass drivers."
0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0
Ground Zero of battle zone
The tattered militia was reduced to about 300 now. Their rescuer's landing was causing a severe sand storm. The sand nearly blocked out the sun, but it did little to hide the thousands of bullets that were reducing their numbers even further. Thankfully, though, the supporting cruiser was now taking some of the heat. With the savior ship almost descended, it was only a matter of time before the desert militia was free from the Imperial Taidan's oppression. Until then, though, the army that outnumbered them ten to one, was slaughtering the decrepit men and women by the dozens.
Above the noise of the gunfire, there was a deep hum of the charging mass drivers. There was a loud whoosh, then an eruption several kilometers off. Suddenly, as if on cue, the opposing gunfire stopped. The fire that originally lit up the sand, faded with it's illumination. The sandstorm darkened and the rebels stopped firing for lack of a visible target. Whoosh....thump. The sound of the cannons and the repulsion systems of the cruiser were still plainly evident, but any sign of their tyrants was lost in the clouds of kicked up dust. Whoosh....thump.
0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0
Observation Nest
The tactical display showed the green group scatted into fourteen separate groups, each one heading approximately to the outpost. One by one, dotted lines formed between the groups and a white 'X,' representing Rei and Ter's position. Rei looked back down from the retreating Imperial army. For a moment, he watched the three red triangles. "Which groups have anti-aircraft capability?"
Ter thought for a moment, pretending he could see the retreat, much less the battle cruiser. "Let's see, if I remember correctly, Rio, Simba, and Shogun."
"Right, radio Shogun to deploy and engage the gunships."
"On it."
As Terrex began his radio call, Rei looked back at the outpost. On the building itself, the venting ports and the launch doors for the CP's were opening up. Then, the second he looked at the artillery cannons at the base of the outpost, they began firing. He whipped around in time to see the first few rounds strike the base of the recently landed cruiser. The clouds caused by the descent were receding, but now pillars of sand burst open ground where the rebels supposedly were.
"Rei, Shogun reports negative on the AA. They say it was damaged by the mass drivers."
"Hmm...Find a group that can do it."
"Already did. Rio is almost deployed."
The artillery fire stopped. Reload time. Rei looked out at the area where the ground began leveling out again. There were no rebel forces where he remembered them. Instead, a flood of white armored troops and vehicles began pouring out of the cruiser. After the pause, Rei breathed, "Here they come..."
"Groups Grizzly and Hebi can run cover for Rio." Ter said, knowing exactly what Rei meant, without being able to see it.
"Make it a defense. Also, have Atlantic Group play decoy for the mass drivers."
"Bad idea, Atlantic reports severe casualties, Ceratops is still in the back."
"Plus, they're our cavalry, aren't they?"
Ter grinned, "Bingo."
Rei smirked. "Do it."
0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0
Mikta Sector – Sub-sector 24
Somtaaw Investigation Squad
"Look how old that thing is..." said one of the Worker pilots. After a brief flight from the command ship, the worker and its escorts had finally reached their destination. Their mission was simply: to retrieve an item at the given coordinates. Usually this would mean command had found some sort of significant resource, or an abandoned reactor system that could be reverse engineered, but this...
"What is it?"
"Command hasn't given any details. Maybe they don't know, either."
"Well, whatever it is, it isn't the whole thing. Look at those thrust ports..."
"They're fried...One time use? What does that mean? A probe of some sort..?" The worker began making adjustments to latch onto the object.
A pilot of one of the three Recons, overhearing the conversation, spoke up, "I doubt it, except for those small obelisks, there aren't any antennas."
"Plus this wasn't built in any hanger," said one of the Acolyte fighter pilots. It looks like it would snuggly dock with a ship. See the port holes on the side?"
"Oh yeah....weird," noticed the Recon pilot. "Then that only leaves one possibility..."
"Escape pod."
"So that's why all the SOS frequencies are going haywire, We're sitting on the sender," said the worker pilot. The worker had just reached capture distance (a little over two meters).
"Except we're a little late...that thing looks older than Yiv's refrigerator sandwiches..."
The group of twenty-five burst out laughing, but soon stopped in curiosity. How old was this....pod...? Where did it come from? When's lunch break? And mostly, what was that weird stuff on the outside? The magnetic capture systems started on the worker.
"Perfect lock." The pilot switched frequencies on his headset, "Command, We've locked down the object and are heading back. Priority course."
"Roger worker two. We're still encountering raids on the Shin-buun. Keep weapons active in case you're noticed."
"Copy that, Command." The pilot flipped frequencies again. "All right you slackers, Command says to keep an eye out for those Turanic f-ers."
"Recon One copies; radar systems see clear skies and is transmitting cleanly."
"This is Alpha leader; all mass drivers are green."
"Epsilon leader copies; group is activating weapons HUD. Consider your asses covered."
"No doubt, Acolytes. No doubt."